NABTU and Microsoft expand nationwide initiative to strengthen AI training and career pathways across the skilled trades
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) and Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced an expanded partnership to support a strong workforce pipeline and help workers across North America build the skills needed to succeed in an AI-powered economy.
Building on a partnership that has already trained 1,500 instructors in hands-on training centers nationwide, NABTU and Microsoft are now launching no-cost AI literacy courses and industry-recognized credentials to help make foundational AI skills accessible to millions of skilled craft professionals across North America. The partnership also extends to TradesFutures, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), to expand awareness of careers in the skilled trades. This partnership will build AI literacy across TradesFutures' apprenticeship readiness program network that connects people to union construction apprenticeship programs and careers in 34 states.
The collaboration reflects a practical, long-term approach to ensuring that the people and communities building the AI economy share in its benefits. Together Microsoft and NABTU are creating real career pathways and access to AI skills training designed with and for the skilled trades, grounded in the realities of the jobsite, focused on safety and quality, and delivered through trusted union apprenticeship systems and Microsoft's online LinkedIn learning platform that can help millions of people enter family-sustaining careers.
The expanded partnership is aligned to Microsoft's Community-First AI Infrastructure commitments, reflecting a focus on helping ensure the communities where new infrastructure is built benefit from the jobs created.
"The people building the physical infrastructure of the AI economy, like electricians, ironworkers and pipefitters, deserve a share in its opportunity," said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft. "That's why we're expanding our work with NABTU, bringing free AI training to millions of skilled craft professionals across North America, while preserving the hands-on expertise that defines their craft."
The partnership centers on integrating AI education into NABTU's Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC) model and delivering hands-on learning through training centers across all 50 states and Canada. Microsoft and NABTU are also working with JATC faculty, instructors and training directors to co-design curriculum and tailor AI use cases that reflect the needs of the skilled trades — while expanding access beyond the classroom through new, no-cost AI fluency courses available broadly beginning today on LinkedIn Learning. The courses are open to instructors, leaders, apprentices and skilled trades professionals across North America, and upon completion, participants can earn an industry-recognized and in-demand AI literacy credential.
Speaking today at NABTU's annual Legislative Conference, NABTU President Sean McGarvey said, "NABTU's training model has always been about scale, quality and lifelong opportunity. Through this expanded collaboration with Microsoft, we are making AI training available to instructors, apprentices and journey-level workers across our system. This work helps keep the building trades at the forefront of innovation while advancing our mission to deliver family-sustaining careers and help shape how new technology expands opportunity for every worker."
The partnership also extends to TradesFutures, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Operating in 34 states, the TradesFutures Apprenticeship Readiness Program enrolls more than 7,700 people annually, and partners with communities to recruit, train and place participants in union construction apprenticeships and careers. The technical foundation of these programs is the award-winning Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3), which introduces participants to the construction industry and prepares graduates to apply to the apprenticeship program of their choice.
The expanded work supports NABTU's mission to strengthen pathways into the skilled trades and modernize workforce development as digital tools transform safety, productivity and job requirements across the construction industry. Alongside NABTU's broader partnership with Microsoft to deliver the physical infrastructure needed to power the future, this collaboration connects workforce innovation with infrastructure investment to ensure skilled trades professionals are equipped with the tools, training and opportunities needed to thrive. Together, the organizations are building a more inclusive, future-ready workforce while broadening access to in-demand skills and construction career opportunities.
About NABTU
North America's Building Trades Unions is an alliance of 14 national and international unions in the building and construction industry collectively representing over 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. Each year, our unions and signatory contractor partners invest over $2.5 billion in private-sector money to fund and operate over 1,900 apprenticeship training and education facilities across North America that produce the safest, most highly trained, and most productive, skilled craft workers anywhere in the world. NABTU is dedicated to creating economic security and employment opportunities for its construction workers by safeguarding wage and benefits standards, promoting responsible private capital investments, investing in renowned apprenticeship and training, and creating more construction career pathways to the middle class for women, communities of color, Indigenous people, veterans, and the justice-involved. For more information, please visit nabtu.org.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers. The company is committed to making AI broadly available and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.